TAMPA, Fla. (January, 11, 2006) ? Like two great warriors in battle, the University of South Florida's Jessica Dickson (Ocala, Fla.) and Rutgers University's Cappie Pondexter fought to the bitter end in an epic showdown of two of college basketball's top offensive stars.
Dickson, the nation's leading scorer, poured in a career high 37 points, which also equals the third highest single-game point total in school history.
Pondexter recorded the fifth-highest scoring performance in Rutgers history and the No. 10/9 ranked Scarlet Knights needed every point.
Pondexter scored a career-high 40 points, including a clutch jumper with 8 seconds left, and Rutgers rallied to beat USF 66-65 on Wednesday night.
Pondexter's jumper gave the Scarlet Knights a 66-64 lead. USF's Shantia Grace (Sarasota, Fla.) converted one of two free throws in the final seconds and the Bulls got the ball back after Pondexter missed a free throw, but Jessica Dickson missed a desperation heave at the buzzer.
"It definitely hurts in the locker room," USF coach Jose Fernandez said. "We're an NCAA (tournament) team. We've just got to win these games. These are the type of games that you need to win to put you over the top."
Rutgers (11-2, 3-0 BIG EAST) has won 11 straight conference games dating back to Feb. 6, 2005.
The loss for USF (11-5, 1-2 BIG EAST) is the third in its last four games. It was its fifth contest against a Top 15 team in its last 11 games.
After four lead changes over a five-minute stretch, the Bulls pulled even at 62 on a ChiChi Okpaleke (Tampa, Fla.) free throw with 2 minutes remaining. After Dickson and Pondexter exchanged baskets, Okpaleke missed two free throws with 17 seconds to play.
Rutgers, which trailed by 16 in the first half, took a 55-54 lead on Courtney Locke's 3 with 6:40 to go.
The Scarlet Knights had tied it at 52 with 8 1/2 minutes remaining after a 15-3 run. Pondexter, the conference's second-leading scorer, started the stretch with a three-point play after Dickson hit a 3 to put USF ahead 49-37 with 14 minutes left.
"I knew it was going to be a game where her and I would be going back and forth," Dickson said. "She just made the big shots in the end. She's a great player."
Dickson had 18 points in the first half, helping the Bulls take a 32-24 halftime lead.
Grace would also finish the game in double figures with 10 points.
USF returns to action on Sunday, Jan. 15 at 2 p.m. when it hits the road to face Cincinnati.
(Associated Press contributed to this story)
